Despite snapping a nine-game losing streak on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Nets are a team in serious trouble. Not because they are slowly slipping out of playoff contention, but because they may be trading away the very players that are the most responsible for the majority of their success this season.

According to the New Jersey Record, the Nets are in a proposed three-way deal with the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers that would send Jason Kidd, Jamaal Magloire and Malik Allen to the Mavericks, while Dallas would send Devin Harris to the Blazers. In exchange for Kidd, Portland and Dallas would package, Jerry Stackhouse, Devean George, Channing Frye and Travis Outlaw to the Nets with a future number one pick and cash.

Considering how Kidd has played this season, leading the team in assists and rebounds, the Nets are either hoping Frye and Outlaw can continue to develop into solid players, or are turning the engine off this season so they can get something from that number one pick. Averaging nearly 14 points a game this season, Outlaw is definitely an upgrade over Josh Boone and Sean Williams and Frye can and will flourish with more playing time, But why the Nets would want Jerry Stackhouse, who hasn’t been a star in this league for nearly a half decade, is scary. George would bolster the bench and provide a decent three-point option off the bench. The only question is, will this deal make the Nets better?

With Josh Boone and Williams not ready for prime time minutes and Nenad Krstic still injured, the addition of Outlaw, Frye and George would give the Nets plenty of options and would allow the Nets to be patient with their youngsters. However, the addition of Stackhouse is puzzling, unless the Nets are looking to deal Vince Carter. Wait, they are. According to Yahoo! Sports, Nets General Manager Rod Thorn has been on the phones all week after Jason Kidd finally went public, after months of denies and speculation,  with his request to be traded and is looking to deal Carter as well.

If Kidd and Carter both leave New Jersey, the Nets will be a completely different team, void now of a top-tier point guard and a game-breaking shooting guard. It remains to be seen if that team can do better than 19-26 though. With the team’s move to Brooklyn recently delayed and the potential loss of two of their best players and huge fan favorites, the Nets stock hasn’t been this low in nearly a decade.

With an 18-25 record so far this season, the New Jersey Nets have melted down and now find themselves outside the playoff picture, desperately trying to find a way to put things back together. Only in the Eastern Conference in the NBA would this team be only a half game out of a playoff spot and luckily that’s where they are.

With the bench and supporting cast not being able to help out Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson on a consistent basis, the Nets have given up a ton of points as of late and lack a post presence that can get them the rebounds in the defensive end that they need to get them going in the right direction on the court. With players like Antoine Wright[who has been fighting injuries and inconsistency all season] Marcus Williams, Sean Williams and Josh Boone, not being ready yet for full-time duty, Jamaal Magloire not getting any playing time and Jason Collins playing his way out of the league, this team has some serious problems that need to be addressed.

They’re still without Nenad Krstic, who if healthy, could change things a bit for them, but is far from the savior this team needs right now. Nothing short of a clone of Drazen Petrovic circa 1992 and a trade for a legitimate center can save this team now.

In the midst of this eight-game losing streak though, coach Lawrence Frank doesn’t think he’s in fear of losing his job. Instead, he says he feels “embarrassed” and knows his players feel the same way too.

“The only thing I’m worried about is 18-23,” he told the New York Daily News a few games ago. “Everyone to a man is extremely embarrassed about the way we’re playing. … We’re embarrassed. The way we’re representing ourselves, and more importantly, the way we’re representing ourselves as a team, is not acceptable.”

I believe the word you guys are looking for right now is DUH.

The only question is what exactly can the Nets do in order to change things?

For one, there’s been a rumor over the past few days that the Bulls want Bostjan Nachbar, Antoine Wright, Marcus Williams and Jamaal Magloire to the Bulls for Andres Nocioni and Thabo Sefolosha. If they can find a way to get Nachbar out of that deal and give them something else or even a third or fourth round pick, make that deal in a heartbeat. Then next season, you go out and draft yourself another point guard to be Kidd’s understudy [if he’s around as well]. Nocioni has been getting better every year he’s been in this league and Sefolosha projects to be a solid role player. His versatility also makes him a solid option off the bench.

Granted, this move wouldn’t be a huge one as far as turning the Nets into a NBA finals caliber team again, but it would be a step in the right direction. If Krstic comes back healthy and they have Nocioni scoring 15 points a game and Nachbar off the bench, this team will have plenty of scoring and options off the bench.

At this point, it’s probably just a pipe dream, but it’s interesting to imagine at this point in the season.

Tons of things to look at with the Nets as far as rumors go this week, so let’s get started:

Winning eight of their last 11 games, the New Jersey Nets are turning a mediocre season around. Powered by great play from Richard Jefferson and Jason Kidd, the Nets find themselves over .500 and are a few wins away from getting themselves into fourth place in conference. Right now, there’s a three way tie for that spot, with Washington and Toronto. However, neither one of those teams are playing nearly as well as the Nets as of late.

With the team playing so strongly as of late, the rumors of Jason Kidd being dealt have suddenly disappeared. The same thing goes for the deal between the Jazz and Nets, which got barely a blurb in the Salt Lake Tribune earlier this week. What does all of this mean? Maybe this team is starting to come together. It took them long enough, but there’s still plenty of basketball left to be playing and this team may be starting to develop the chemistry needed to set them apart from the rest of the mediocre Eastern Conference.

A few notes from a few papers and sites covering the Nets…

The Bergen Record reports that Marcus Williams may be sent to a developmental league to get back into playing shape…

Averaging 1.3 PPG in nine games and playing less than 10 minutes a game will do that. The way Darrell Armstrong has looked off the bench since the new year started has been much better than how he started the season and with the way Kidd has been playing all season, it looks like Williams is the odd man out. Maybe some time with some scrubs will get him back on the right track. Armstrong may be the backup point guard right now, but in the long run, Williams is going to have to step up his game and become everything the Nets expected him to be when they drafted him in the first round almost two seasons ago.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Jazz are unlikely to deal Richard Jefferson for Andrei Kirilenko straight up because Utah has plenty of swing man type players that can fill the role that Jefferson would…

Last time I checked, there weren’t many players in the league that are averaging almost 25 points a game and I got more news for everybody…if the Nets stay over .500 and start to get contributions from the bench on a more consistent basis, the chances of seeing a trade could reduce drastically.

The Sporting News recently did a Q & A with Jefferson. It’s a pretty solid read and definitely worth checking out:

Jefferson: The latest in lean mean scoring machines

Every week since I started writing this blog, I’ve always found something interesting to write about this team. This week is no different as the rumor mill is still percolating with plenty of interesting things to talk about.

The big rumor this week is the proposed deal that could send Marcus Williams or Josh Boone and Vince Carter to the Pacers for Jermaine O’Neal. While the Star-Ledger, the publication that reported the rumor thinks that it’s a bad deal considering how O’Neal’s numbers have curtailed over the past four seasons, I actually like it. Who knows if Nenad Krstic will every be the same player when he comes back and at least they know what they’re going to get from O’Neal. As far as his numbers dropping, he’s not even 30 years old yet and may need a change of scenery.

As far as Krstic goes, he doesn’t even know what his time table is. He’s a report taken from Yahoo sports today:

Krstic began participating in non-contact drills last week, with good results, according to the New York Post. “I am really happy,” said Krstic. “I’m getting closer to being back for playing time.” He remains on an indefinite timetable, however, adding that it was “hard to say” when he’ll actually be ready to be activated.

Vince Carter however has been playing much better over the past month and change, but in order to get into the playoffs and stay alive, this team needs more help up front. Josh Boone has been rebounding pretty well over the past few games and Sean Williams [when he stays out of foul trouble] has been alright as well. The only question is do the Nets want to wait for Boone and Williams to develop? Getting rid of Carter would force the Nets to give someone like Antoine Wright to step and be the player everyone expected him to be a few years ago.

Earlier in the season, Wright looked like he was ready to be an option off the bench and play 25-30 minutes a game. Once he gets back into the lineup, his play might be the deciding factor as to if New Jersey decides to make a move or not.

Away from the rumors involving players, The Associated Press reported yesterday that the Nets aren’t going to be ready to play in Brooklyn until late in the 2009-2010 season. For a team that’s in desperate need of a spark, this news is like losing a star player. Despite firm opposition to the plan to move them here by several activist groups in Brooklyn, this team would be embraced in the Atlantic Yards and will be able to bring in more fans than the Knicks.

Over the past few years, the Knicks have gone from something that lived in the blood of most New Yorkers to something that bringing up in casual conversation could ruin an other wise perfect night. This team needs to come to Brooklyn as much as basketball fans in New York need something and someone new to believe in.

Simply put, this stinks.